Hello everyone just looking for some help as I just got a new regency pro series f3500 series stove. Set up the stove and am currently on my 6th or 7th burn but I'm thinking the stove is getting to hot? The stove came with a thermometer for the top of the stove that sits above the cat and there is no numbers on the thermometer just has a active and inactive zone... the stove maxed out the thermometer one fire I had and I shut the drafter completely but it took a while for it to cool down. I run the stove mostly now with the drafter completely shut and there is still flames in the firebox and I'm on the high side of the thermometer. Wondering if anyone has ran into the same problem or if the thermometer is accurate? Or maybe I have a draft issue? Any help would be appreciated thanks.
Regency pro series f3500 help
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While 1. The cat will be "hyperactive" (very hot) initially. That's normal. I'd say until the first cord has burned through it.
and 2. Moreover, shutting down the air might make the cat more hot; with less air, there is less primary fire, but the wood that was burning is still emitting half-burnt gases and smoke - precisely the fuel for the cat that makes a cat hot.
There is a chance that something is off (flames with air shut down).
So, I'm not sure how much your stove can shut the primary air, but have you done the dollar bill test? (search on this website) to check for whether the door is sealing sufficiently? Also with a cold door open, place both flat hands on the glass ("squeezing" the plane of the glass between your hands) and see if you can move it in its frame. Carefully... It should not move.
Finally, how tall is your flue?
and 2. Moreover, shutting down the air might make the cat more hot; with less air, there is less primary fire, but the wood that was burning is still emitting half-burnt gases and smoke - precisely the fuel for the cat that makes a cat hot.
There is a chance that something is off (flames with air shut down).
So, I'm not sure how much your stove can shut the primary air, but have you done the dollar bill test? (search on this website) to check for whether the door is sealing sufficiently? Also with a cold door open, place both flat hands on the glass ("squeezing" the plane of the glass between your hands) and see if you can move it in its frame. Carefully... It should not move.
Finally, how tall is your flue?
New cats are over active at first and get really hot. Generally not a problem but I would recommend a thermometer to measure pipe temps as well
Ok so things may improve as I burn more wood through the cat. And I understand that less air creates more smoke ( fuel for the cat) but if I open the drafter it creates more flame and the whole stove temp will increase. Currently right now the stove has been lit for 3 hours I have 2 6" round junks in there and there's a flame in the middle of both junks with the drafter completely closed. Now this is smoke building up on the door glass and the thermometer is staged between the last and second last notch. I'm familiar with the bill test and checking for leaks in glass and the door seal but I just figured where it was a brand new stove that all of that should be good but I will definitely double check when the stove cools off. Currently in total from top of stove to rain cap I'd say about 22'
I've read about people having thermometers in the flue 18" the stove. Do you just drill a hole in the flue and insert a thermometer or is there certain thermometers needed for that?
Yes, but the thermometer near the cat (isn't this a probe thermometer sticking in behind the cat?) can and will behave opposite to the "whole stove temp" in certain situations.
It should seal right as long as the installer adjusted the door properly. It is probably absolutely fine just an over active new cat. But out of curiosity how tall is your chimney?
If the stove is connected with double-wall stove pipe then a probe thermometer, around 20" above the stove is recommended. This stove is a hybrid, so an active cat may only be part of the issue. With a 22' flue the draft should be ok.
Extra dry wood can also cause an over active stove. What size are the wood splits being burned? How tightly packed is the firebox?
Yes the probe is inserted through top of stove sitting on top of the cat. But yes true I guess that's really only taking readings for the cat and not the whole stove. I am just worried about over firing the cat and causing damage. The thermometer that came with the stove isn't really a good thermometer as it has no temperature readings on it. I may look into replacing it with another.
Dry wood may be an issue as the wood I'm burning now is left over wood from last year's season as I had a chimney liner issue last year and had to stop using my old stove so the wood is about 2-3 years old and stored inside. It's very dry lol
Try mixing in some newer wood though not green wood. Something in the 20-22% mc range would be good. Pack the wood in tighter and close down the air sooner. Thicker splits will also slow down the fire.
Pretty sure you could just measure the length of the cat probe, then get a Condar of the same length and that would work. Or get an Auber Instruments AT-100 setup and go digital. That might not be the look you want, though, with a wire coming out of the top of your pretty stove. 😏
The amount of heat coming from the stove right now is perfect though.but I have the drafter all the way closed and there is very minimal flame. If I look up to the combuster everything right now is just black there is no glowing combuster or flames curling around the glass. In saying that if I open the drafter and the combuster is working it is usually way to hot in the house. And usually the thermometer on top of the stove will go past its maximum reading mark.
I've seen the digital ones seems a bit excessive and fancy for me lol I think I'd just measure the probe and get one with temperature readings.
I think you said you can see the cat glowing? I could see into the Buck 91 through the bypass rod hole, and see the cat glowing, and could look through the window on my Dutchwest, Keystone and Fireview. I never want to see the cat glowing a bright orange or pushing yellow, that's too hot. You don't want to push 1500*. A medium-orange glow might be 1100-1200, and I'm comfortable with temps in that range.
What are the outside temperatures now and how cold does it get in winter there?
Does the cat probe still read in the active range? It doesn't have to be glowing to be burning smoke..
Yes it's still reading in the active range but it's currently not glowing or even orange I'd had it glowing orange before but there's usually a lot of heat coming out of the stove when it's orange.
Outside today it's currently 4 degree Celsius I'm on east coast in Canada usually dips down to -20 to -30 Celsius being the coldest
If the stove is a bit oversized for milder 0-4ºC weather then this will balance out in colder weather. In mild weather the stove may typically need to be throttled back or smaller loads burned if the area being heated gets too warm. Sometimes another option is to move the heat better to areas of the house not currently receiving it.
Yes I kinda figured it wouldn't be so bad when the weather gets colder but it's a massive difference for the heat output from my old stove to this one it's a good complaint I guess lol the stoves rated for 1500-2500sq ft and my house is 1500 so it's big for the house but that's what I wanted so I could run it on the lower side and hopefully save more wood. As for heating the house, it heats the whole house efficiently sometimes to efficiently as there's not many places you can go to cool off other than outside lol
The point is that it's not a thermometer and it's not a gauge that is telling you how much heat the stove is producing.
The only thing you need to know there is whether the cat is active or not so you know when to close the bypass.
A flue thermometer is the best thermometer to base operation of a stove on.
I can see my cat fluctuate in temperature (even going from glowing to not glowing) during a burn when the heat output is reasonably steady.
If I were you I'd set the air to the position that makes the room/home warm enough, keep track of the cat temperature to ensure it's in the active range (so you dont' have a stalled cat), and add a flue probe to ensure the flue gas temps are within a safe (not too hot and not too cold leading to accuulation of gunk) range.
A stove thermometer is just not the best way to run a modern stove.
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